Astrophotography

[Moonshine]

I hope this post belongs here rather than in the astrophotography section - it is very much a beginner's question. As I understand it, the main options for astrophotography are:

Conventional SLR
Digital SLR
Modified webcam
Dedicated CCD astrophotography cam

Whilst I know there are whole books on the subject, I haven't seen anywhere a brief overview which compares the above techniques in terms of pro and cons, cost, quality achievable, user friendliness etc. Does anyone know where I can find such an overview - or care to give me a quick headsup? Thanks!

[davidpretorius]

Just a quick one:

From my experience:
Dob mounts can get away with modified toucams etc, but i would say the results are about 2/10.
My dob now driven may be able to stay still for say 10-20 seconds and with then a canon 350, might be able to do some good shots of nebulae etc: 4 or 5/10
To justify the expense of a canon 20d or 5d or the dedicated slr, nothing short of quality and rock solid mounts thousands of $$

Budget is the main thing, you can do different levels, but it increses quickly

[Dennis]

My quick 2c worth.

Conventional SLR:
Relatively inexpensive but costly, ongoing film and develop/print costs. Still good for deep sky objects (DSOs) and wide field shots but you don’t get to see your mistakes until it’s too late – after the film has been developed and printed. Superseded by webcams (LPI, ToUcam, Neximage) for Planets and Moon.


Digital SLR:
Expensive. In the hands of a master, such as the late Erwin – simply fantastic. Great for DSOs and for immediate gratification and checking of e.g. focusing errors, composition, etc. Require a fair amount of image processing expertise to get the best results. Really demands a very good mount, polar alignment and auto-guiding to get the best results.

Modified webcam:
Inexpensive. Never used one, but used a non-modified LPI and ToUcam which provide really stunning images of the Moon and Planets. Relatively straightforward to use compared to the other sensors.

Dedicated CCD astrophotography cam:
Very expensive. Generally only B&W unless you use a colour filter wheel or single shot colour ccd. A bit of a learning curve but produces wonderful DSO images. Really demands a very good mount, polar alignment and auto-guiding to get the best results.

Great books:
Astrophotography for the Amateur http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/astromenu.html
Introduction to Digital Astrophotography http://www.robertreeves.com/

Cheers

Dennis

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Doesn't Steve Massey have a book dedicated to Astrophotography?
Try your local library, it should be listed, along with many other Astronomy books. If you borrow the book first, you will know if it is worth buying.